Moments to commemorate and honor fathers

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M. Saadat Noury
by M. Saadat Noury
16-Jun-2010
 

Father’s Day will be celebrated on coming Sunday June 20 in almost 55 countries around the globe. The idea for designating a day to honor fathers and to celebrate fatherhood began in Spokane, a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. Sonora Smart Dodd, a woman native to Spokane, thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a sermon at Spokane's Central Methodist Episcopal Church in 1909 about the newly recognized Mother's Day. She wanted a celebration that honor the fathers like her own father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran who was left to raise his family alone when his wife died giving birth to their sixth child (Sonora).

Having been raised by her father, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced to the US Congress in 1913. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted. US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation. In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "singling out just one of our two parents". In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like people honor all mothers on Mother's Day.

Gifts and Flowers: In different cultures around the world, when children cannot visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card. In most cultures, fathers prefer greeting cards that are not too sentimental. Most greeting cards are whimsical so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the son or daughter needed Dad.

Roses are the Father's Day flowers: red to be offered for a living father and white if the father has already died and the family likes to remember him.

In the History of Iran: Some documents indicate that the Father’s Day used to be celebrated during Bahaman Feast (in Persian: Jashn-e Bahmangan) by ancient Iranians. In modern Iran, March 16 was designated as the Father’s Day. It coincided with 24th day of Esfand (12th month of Iranian Calendar), which was also the birth date of Reza Shah, the founder of Pahlavi Dynasty (1925-1979). In the present-day Iran, Father’s Day is celebrated on the Birthday of First Shiite Imam (Imam Ali) on 13 of Rajab Islamic calendar.

In Poetry: Father and fatherhood have been praised by many poets around the world. A Chain of Persian Poems on Father as selected by this author may be viewed online. Here is an English poem on What Makes a Dad as composed by an anonymous poet:

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it Dad.

Happy Father’s Day!

Manouchehr Saadat Noury, PhD

References

Hernandez, B. (2010): Online Article on “Celebrate Father’s Day”.

Murchison, C. (1996): Online Article on “Any man can be a Father, but it takes a special person to be called Dad”.

Saadat Noury, M. (2010): Online Chain of Poems on Father (in Persian).

Wikipedia Encyclopedia (2010): Online Notes on “Father’s Day” (in English and Persian).

Read more about Joyful Moments of Celebration on MISSING MOMENTS 

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more from M. Saadat Noury
 
M. Saadat Noury

To Souri Banoo, comrade, & HME

by M. Saadat Noury on

Thank you for all your interesting messages on this blog.


Homan Mohabadi Ebrahimi

Dear Souri

by Homan Mohabadi Ebrahimi on

I found an answer to your question. In his Persian poem on Hekmat, Ostad refers to her three daughters, Padideh, Paradise, and Parya. So together, let's say Happy Father's Day to you too Ostad Saadat Noury! 


Homan Mohabadi Ebrahimi

Dear Ostad Saadat Noury

by Homan Mohabadi Ebrahimi on

This is a great piece of work. I liked the whole text and I loved the English poem on Father. Thank you for sharing.


comrade

Battle of sexes

by comrade on

How come a kitchen gadget as a gift for the Mothers Day is an insult, while I have to show my deepest gratitude after receiving some stupid drill sets for the Fathers Day?

Informative article. Thanks.


Souri

Very great article

by Souri on

Thank you Dr Saadat Noury. I have learned a lot with this article, as always with your precious blog.

Are you, yourself a father too?

Happy early Father's Day to all the fathers in this site!


M. Saadat Noury

To yolanda, reader1, & All-Iranians

by M. Saadat Noury on

Many many thanks for all your interesting messages on this thread.


All-Iranians

International day of Cyrus the Great should be the Father's Day

by All-Iranians on

October 29th has been designated as the international day of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, who declared the first charter of human rights in the world. October 29 should be designated as the Father's Day in Iran.


All-Iranians

Excellent

by All-Iranians on

It is an excellent informative and educational article. Thank you for sharing.


reader1

It must be quintessentially Iranian that ..

by reader1 on

 .... we cannot even keep father's day free of religion and politics.     PS. I don't mean to be disrespectful  Saadat, just an observation! Enjoyed reading your article. 

yolanda

......

by yolanda on

Thank you for the beautiful father's poem and I have copied and saved it. It is absolutely awesome!

Happy Father's Day to you, Dr, Noury!

Thank you for your very educational blog!